


oh, you don't even know me at all (but i was made for loving you)

by ellalopez



Category: The Good Place (TV)
Genre: F/M, cheleanor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-11
Updated: 2019-03-11
Packaged: 2019-11-12 04:59:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18004244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ellalopez/pseuds/ellalopez
Summary: chidi anagonye forgets. (but does he really? why does the architect seem so familiar to him? and why does he have a stomachache in the honest to god good place?)eleanor shellstrop remembers. (it hurts to, but she holds on. for them. and for the ghost of a smile that graces her face whenever chidi has a stomachache.)-set after the season three finale.





	oh, you don't even know me at all (but i was made for loving you)

**THE** first thing Chidi realizes when he opens his eyes is how the letters on the wall in front of him are in his favourite shade of green.

_Welcome! Everything is fine!_

For once in his life, his head is clear, wiped nearly as clean as his chalkboard in his office, and he inhales, taking a shaky breath.  _He's fine._

Chidi sits there, hands interlocked, enjoying his rare, newfound peace, and only looks up when he hears a doorknob twisting. A petite, blonde woman steps out from behind the two wooden doors and greets him, smiling slightly, though the corners of her lips don't quite reach her eyes.

"Hi, Chidi. I'm Eleanor. Come on in."

Chidi doesn't know how or why, but his trust is already hers, and he follows her inside willingly.

_**━━━━━━━━━━━━** _

"I imagine you have a lot of questions," Eleanor starts, taking a seat behind the desk. Chidi takes the one across from her, relieved that there's no other option, and that there's no decision to make. He drums his fingers on the table, a nervous habit of his, and glances around the room, observing his surroundings. A framed photo of a man wearing a burgundy and white polo shirt stares back at him, and he shakes his head, confused. He turns back to Eleanor, who's waiting for him to finish, only to find her staring directly into his eyes. Past the rims of his glasses, past his gathering thoughts- right at his soul.

_He's in a room he doesn't recognize to be his, and there's a blur beside him, someone buried in the crook of his arm. They're tangled beneath the sheets, and he pulls the girl close, pressing a chaste kiss to the crown of her head. She opens her mouth to speak, like she's about to confess something, and-_

Chidi blinks, and the memory is gone as quick as it came.

Eleanor has focused her attention elsewhere now, throwing a rubber band ball back and forth between her hands. She sits up straight when she notices Chidi's distress, the ball dropping to the floor, rolling away.

"D-did you see that?" He asks, frantic, praying that he's not going crazy. Eleanor's eyebrows knit together in confusion.

"See what, bud?" She asks easily, simply, the nickname tumbling out before she can stop it.  _Bud._ It nags at him, telling him that there's more to it, but his brain refuses to cooperate, and he's unable to wrack up anything of significance.

"It's nothing, forget it. This is just... a lot. I've never been more lost." Chidi dismisses it by changing the subject, not wanting to let a  _daydream_ ruin this place for him. Eleanor laughs, a twinkling, familiar sound, leaning back in her chair.

"Tell me about it. We'll help you get settled in, though, trust me. You'll be living your best life- afterlife, sorry- and teaching those moral philosophy lessons you love soon enough." Chidi gapes at her, jaw slacked, his eyes wide.

"How do you know about my ethics lessons- wait, did you say my  _afterlife?_ I'm  _dead?"_

_**━━━━━━━━━━━━** _

If it wasn't for Eleanor, who was the perfect combination of sweet and patient, he was sure his brain would explode. She says how he's in The Good Place, the 'heaven' of the dead, and that this is one of the million neighbourhoods they have. Each neighbourhood has an architect, she adds, that tailors the design to the 322 residents.

"So you're this neighbourhood's architect?" Chidi says slowly, still trying to wrap his head around this all. Eleanor nods, standing up to get something from the cabinet behind her.

"This is your file," Eleanor tells him, sliding the thick folder across the desk. Chidi pushes it back toward her, grimacing.

"I'd rather not see it. I mean, as long as I'm here in The Good Place, right? I made it!" He grins at her, warmth blossoming in his chest as happiness overwhelms him. Eleanor's eyes crinkle in amusement, and she chuckles softly.

"Yeah, bu- Chidi. You did. You led an extraordinary life, dedicating it to helping people understand the rights and wrongs of the universe. I'm proud of you," she says honestly, her voice strained with emotion. The seriousness of her tone settles in his bones, and it's like he _knows_ her, he's _been_ here before-

"We're _all_ so proud of you," she adds quickly, as if sensing his uncertainty. "Everyone that saw your point total is. You're a good person, Chidi Anagonye."

(She almost sounds  _sad,_ but maybe he's just imagining it. Eternal beings, an  _angel_ like Eleanor couldn't be sad, could she?)

"Why don't I give you a tour?" She offers, causing Chidi to snap back to reality. His internal dilemmas are shoved aside, to be dealt with later and he agrees, accompanying Eleanor's lead.

"Did I have my lucky bookmark with me? Oh wait, I'm dead. Hasn't sunk in yet."

_**━━━━━━━━━━━━** _

"Are eternal beings obsessed with frozen yogourt? Is that what this is?" Chidi asks, genuinely curious, as he gestures at the shops and stands populating the streets. Eleanor snorts, her voice dropping to a hushed whisper.

"Quite the opposite, actually. Humans can't get enough of this stuff," she says, like she's spilling a giant secret. "I don't blame us- them," she corrects. "I recommend the calling male coworker out for stealing your ideas flavour. It's to die for."

Chidi and Eleanor walk side by side, arms swinging, hands barely brushing as they exchange jokes and tidbits. They make their way down the sidewalk, bumping into a smartly dressed man and woman, and both their faces light up at the sight of them.

"How are you settling in?" The man asks cheerfully, but there's a falseness to it that he can't place. The woman has the same, matching bright smile, and they look at him expectantly. Eleanor shoots them both death glares, and Chidi adjusts his glasses awkwardly.

"I'm doing fine, thanks! Eleanor's been really helpful."

"I should hope so. She's one of our best," the man says cryptically, winking at the architect. Eleanor doesn't flinch, her eyes still narrowed.

"This was not how I planned you guys meeting, but... Chidi, meet Michael and Janet," Eleanor introduces. She punches Michael's shoulder, who yelps at the sudden pain. "He's my assistant, and he sorts out the boring logistic stuff. And this hottie over here is my girl Janet," Eleanor says, making finger guns at her.

"Not a girl," Janet responds automatically, grinning. "Not a robot either. Definitely a hottie, though." She and Eleanor high five at that, and Chidi watches them, entertained.

"What are you, exactly?"

"Janet's like... an operational mainframe for all the neighbourhoods, The Bad Place included. Each Janet is designed specifically for the purpose of making others happy. She basically contains all the knowledge in the universe and can provide you with any object you request," Eleanor explains. "For example-"

"My lucky bookmark from Earth that I got at a book fair when I was six." Chidi blurts out, interrupting Eleanor. "It's black and white..." His sentence trails off when he sees the piece of plastic he was describing in Janet's palm.

"Here you go!" She beams in triumph, Chidi taking the bookmark from her, stupefied.

"That's incredible. It's an exact replica." Eleanor gazes at him, adoration hidden in her eyes, willing herself not to call him a nerd and kiss him senseless.

"We should get going," Eleanor coughs, chasing away her thoughts. She grips Chidi's arm, steering him in the direction of the houses, ignoring Michael and Janet's shouts.

"It was nice meeting you, Chidi!" Janet yells, friendly as ever, and Chidi bites his lip, nudging Eleanor.

"Wasn't that a bit rude? Maybe we should-"

"They'll be at Orientation tomorrow," Eleanor states, distracted. She scans each building with mild distaste, stopping in front of a mint green and salmon painted apartment.

"This is where you'll be staying," she says quietly, a desperate attempt to keep the hurt out of her voice. They were supposed to live together in the stupid clown infested house they fell in love in, and now she had to live alone like some pathetic  _loser-_

"Are you okay?" Chidi asks, concerned. Eleanor's blue eyes are dimmed, clouded with... longing? Didn't angels have _everything?_

"I think I will be," she answers gingerly, scratching the back of her neck. "See you in the AM, bud."

He has the urge to comfort her, to wrap her in his arms, but that would be weird, wouldn't it? God, he was  _vexed._

"Ugh, why do I have a stomachache? Isn't this a _utopia?"_ Chidi groans, stopping Eleanor in her tracks.

_(He isn't sure- of course, he never is- but he swears he sees her smile.)_

**Author's Note:**

> yeah, i cried. let me know if you did too? and mike schur, if you're reading this, i'm flipping you off right now. behind this screen. just thought you should know.


End file.
